Union Mill Stages 'Annie Jr.'

To be performed March 16-17 at the school.

Union Mill Elementary students have been working for months on their production of "Annie Jr.," which will be held March 16-17 at the school.

PERFORMANCES will be held at Union Mill Elementary on Wednesday, March 16 at 1:45 p.m. and 7 p.m., and again on Thursday, March 17 at 9 a.m. There is no charge for admission.

The slightly abridged version of the play will include 80 students in grades 5-6, under the direction of Lucinda Sexton.

"It's been a wonderfully rewarding experience to work with these talented students. They are amazing. They are pulling this together in spite of many lost rehearsals due to the weather," said Sexton, who is the music teacher and chorus director. "We have wonderful singing and acting talent."

Set in 1933, the musical tells the story of a poor orphan named Annie (played by fifth grader Sage Coury) who struggles to escape a New York City orphanage run by rotten Miss Hannigan (played by sixth-grader Kiersten Farrell). Her troubles seem over when she is befriended by Miss Grace Farrell (played by sixth-grader MaryKate Goff) and Oliver Warbucks (sixth-grader Andrew Bongardt), but shenanigans from con artists Rooster Hannigan (played by fifth-grader Sam Maney) and Lily St. Regis (played by fifth-grader Jessica Berkley) almost destroy her dreams. Can her Orphan friends — played by Emmie Dohse, Ashley Frongello, Brynna Heflin, Merrill Holmes, Kristi McKain, Emily McLenigan and Kelsey Miller — help her to find a family to love?

Come see Annie, Jr. to find out, and to hear some old favorites like "Tomorrow," "It's a Hard-Knock Life," "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here," and "Easy Street," sung by some talented young singers.